06 Accord protected by Z-AIO & Z-CS vs. The real world..

[Macruz19]

Car: 2006 Honda Accord EX 4-banger.

Purchased: Feb 2006 brand new.

Current mileage as of Dec 26th, 2007: 29,540



This car belongs to my sister. I thought I would be nice and give her a nice detail since I`ve notice lately that there`s no beading, and it`s been long over due. It`s time now...



The last detail was done on Feb 2007 with:

-dawn

-clay

-2x ZFX with Z-2pro

-1x Z-CS



The Zaino lasted all thru this year pretty much. It`s been thru the Florida rain, Florida sun. Sleeps in the garage overnight, but blasted with the sun rays during most of the daytime. I think the worst of it was the fresh bird crap on the car, which never gets cleaned, and stays out in the sun. I`m telling you... she was very very lucky it did not etch the paint.



Note: This car has never been quick detailed, unless it`s been bombed by birds, which this car has been abused with bird droppings and NEVER, I mean NEVER cleaned up right away. The paint is very lucky that there are no marked defects from all this. I would say the hood or the roof of this car has always had bird droppings everytime she would come home. As far as washing, I would say the car gets washed ONCE a month, using NXT carwash. She uses the incorrect technique and likes to take her sweet time while the water is drying in the heat.



Now...for my little experiment with Zaino



Car was detailed on Thursday December 20th.

Process was:



-dawn wash

-clay

-Z-7 wash

-Z-AIO using white LCP via PC

-One application of Z-CS

Edited: Opti-Seal the wheels.



Here are the pics...





Before pics....

[IMG]

[IMG]



Rinse pics before the infamous dawn wash





You can notice on the pics that there`s still some beading....







DAWN WASH!! OH NO!!!





After dawn wash... barely beading you see, and it`s LEGIT!









Crappy clay pic





Pics of the car dried after a quick Z-7 wash









Lets look and see how bad my sister washes her car... Oh Sh!T







Holy Cow!! I can hardly see swirls or scratches!! I guess it looks good because she never washes her car!! LOL!! Now that`s funny. Ok, lets be serious. She did have minor water spots on the hood.



After pics Z-AIO









Cheap tire shine... (Blackmagic)



Pics of Z-CS after an hour of application











Last pic of the car after 2nd hour past from the Z-CS application







Hope you guys like my before an after pics. I`m not sure if this is the right thread posted hear, but I want to take weekly pics of the car even though I know this car will not be washed weekly, but monthly. I`ll keep this thread updated daily, and to see how well Zaino performs with the new Z-AIO and Z-CS products.



I`m a believer that the Zaino products can last well over the 6 month span. I`ve been using my sisters car as the Zaino test-mobile for the past year, and I can say it is truly a great product. I always want to slap a coat of Zaino, but now I know it`s only over kill

Only downside of Zaino from my experiece is the waterspots. I`m afraid of the sun after a rain storm. I usually give the car a quick wash to prevent me from doing a full detail with the PC, which is too much work. Sorry for the long post, but I hope you guys like it.



I`ll keep this thread updated again, with this Z-AIO and Z-CS combo. Hopefully it will out do the 2x ZFX Z-2 pro...

[LanceM]

nice and clean. Might want to hit up those fenderwells though.

[Macruz19]

nice and clean. Might want to hit up those fenderwells though.

Yeah, I knew someone was going to say that

[gmblack3]

Looks great and thanks for sharing.

[Scottwax]

Very glossy and wet in the after shots.



I`ve noticed my Dad`s Accord (2004) has pretty much zero swirls. I thought that was because he does a really good job washing and drying his car but looking at your sister`s car and her lack of care makes me wonder if there just is something about the paint on the 7th gen Accords that resists swirls. :nixweiss

[Macruz19]

Very glossy and wet in the after shots.



I`ve noticed my Dad`s Accord (2004) has pretty much zero swirls. I thought that was because he does a really good job washing and drying his car but looking at your sister`s car and her lack of care makes me wonder if there just is something about the paint on the 7th gen Accords that resists swirls. :nixweiss

Thanks!

I`m not sure about the paint, but if so...that`s great!



Her car is dirty all the time, so it`s a dramatic change when she washes it.

[Macruz19]

1ST UPDATE



It`s been almost a month and this car has not been washed... well it`s been washed this evening with a storm passing on by... here some pics of the car...





Recap: December 20, 2007

-Clay

-Z-AIO via PC with White LC pad.

-1x Z-CS



January 16, 2008:

Pics of the car parked inside the garage after storm.

No car wash since being detailed in December.













Whenever I have time. I`ll try to wash the car using a 3rd party carwash soap like NXT.

So far after a month of Hot to Freezing temps here in Northern Florida... Z-AIO and Z-CS combo is holding up well... even when the car is dirty!

[MattPersman]

good post. keep us updated. hard to do it with our own personal vehicles cause some of these new products are just too easy to not just lay on a fresh coat real quick.

[Macruz19]

2nd Update



Since her full detail in December 2007, it`s been washed once with NXT. Yesterday was the 2nd wash. I did a quick ONR wash in the garage. Car was very dirty. Here`s a few pics.









So the first wash was done with NXT, and for the 2nd wash was ONR.

I did not get the caked on mud on the side skirts off with ONR, but hopefully a real car wash will clean up that area well without pulling out the clay bar.



So it`s been almost 3 months now. The paint is not that slick anymore, but the shine is still there. No QD`s were ever used. Z-AIO, and 1 application of Z-CS seems to satisfy me alone on this car.



As for beading I still can`t tell because I don`t get to see the car when it rains, but I`m sure it`s still tight and preventing severe waterspots.



Sorry if the pics look all the same. I`ll get pics in the sun.. (it`s still looking good)



Next update... I`ll do a before and after when the car is dirty, and then clean.

[Macruz19]

Update





I washed the car for the 3rd time on March 30th with NXT. Since then it`s never been washed. It`s going on it`s 5th month and it`s only been washed 3 times with NXT, ONR, and the last NXT. NO QD`s were used for my little experiment.



I took some pics just now with the car dirty. As you can see the gloss is still there, and the paint is very reflective. There`s barely any slickness on the surface, however I`m very pleased that Z-AIO and Z-CS held up this long from a couple of freezing nights to heavy rain, to surging hot temps. This combo is the easiest, and you don`t really need to attend to the paint if you`re the kind of lazy person that does not like to wash or wax the car.



Only problem I see as far as "defects" on the paint is slight water spots on the hood and roof under garage lights or street lamps. The water spots are hard to notice in direct sunlight, but I know that it was not there when I detailed the car back in December 2007.



You really can`t blame these 2 products to allow water to dry and possibly etch the surface without doing a monthly or weekly detail to maintain the 90%-100% swirl/waterspot free paint like we autopians are used to seeing. Of course you`re going to get waterspots if you don`t act now and attend to the paint. After looking at other cars in the parking lot in the shopping plaza, or at work. Most, or should I say all of the cars I looked at have severe water spotting issues that have not been treated with a wax or sealent, and it looks horrible. This is a great combo, and one for the lazy who just wants to wax at least once or twice a year.



As for the bird crap, Z-AIO & CS did a nice job for not allowing the crap etch the paint. I knew that the bird crap was there for days at a time before it would rain, or till I washed it. Nothing was damaged to the clear coat or beyond.



Hope you enjoy the nice dirty shiny car :p

The next update will be the last one, and I`ll post some beading pics. Hopefully it will rain. If not I`ll use a water hose. After that I plan on using 2x Z-2p again before summer hits.









Check out the flakes....and still poppin!



















Whoops wrong picture, but I had to post my car too, which has a fresh layer of Z-5p, Z-CS, and Z-8. I just used ONR QD strength before snapping these pics.



BTW, I think my camera is dirty because you can see black spots on some of the pics. :hairpull

[stilez]

Looking good, thank you for the updates.



Simplicity, durability, and beauty. Z-AIO + CS certainly fits for those three aspects. I`m happy to hear it`s holding up that well. Interested to see beading shots at the next rain storm or rinse before wash.

[SilverLexus]

Looks good indeed.

[Macruz19]

Looking good, thank you for the updates.



Simplicity, durability, and beauty. Z-AIO + CS certainly fits for those three aspects. I`m happy to hear it`s holding up that well. Interested to see beading shots at the next rain storm or rinse before wash.

Everytime it rains, I`m not around to take pics. If all else fails I will rinse and take pics to see the beading. I`m sure it`s still there, but possibly fading.

[Macruz19]

I also like to add...



I did apply Opti Seal on the wheels in December. Everytime I washed the car all the dirt and brake dust came right off. WOWA products for wheels is the best way to maintain wheels since you can avoid all that back bending hard work. You spend 5mins to apply a WOWA product on wheels. Easy and durable protection.

[imported_Picus]

I think there is something to be said for never washing your car. That reminds me, I should post a c&b of my car. I never wash it. :p